Mail-box.



G. G. PFAHLER.

MAIL B0X.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 0V. 24, 1909. 953,435., Pawnted Mar.29,1910.

UTE S CHRISTIAN G. PFAI-ILER, OF LEIPSIC, OHIO.

MAIL-BOX.

Application filed November 24, 1909.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHRISTIAN G. PFAH- l LER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Leipsic, in the county of Putnam and State of Ohio, have invented a new and useful Mail-Box, of which the following 1s a specification.

My invention relates to mail boxes and has for an object to provide a mail box having a simple locking device entirely concealed within its interior and so connected with an alarm also concealed within its interior that the mail box can neither be opened nor closed without the alarm being sounded.

A further object is to provide a mail box in which the locking device is readily accessible to an authorized person and may be locked or unlocked without a key or similar tool.

Vith the above advantages and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, my invention embraces certain novel details of construction and combination of parts which will be hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a perspective view of my improved mail box showing the box in open position. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section through the box showing the same in closed position. Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front elevation of the guard and catch in closed position. Fig. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of the guard and catch in closed position.

Like characters of reference designate similar parts in the views shown.

Referring now to the drawing the letter A designates the main receptacle and the letter B the pivoted leaf.

The main receptacle A comprises a bottom wall 5, side walls 6 and 7 and a rear wall 8. Hinged adjacent the upper edges of the side walls is a shutter comprising triangular shaped side walls 9 and 10 which slidingly fit the side walls of the receptacle and a top wall 11 which inclines downwardly when the shutter is closed to form a water shed over the receptacle. The rear wall of the receptacle is inclined inwardly adjacent its top portion and forms a stop 12 to limit the pivotal movement of the shutter when the latter is rocked to expose the letter receiving slot of the mail box. The pivoted leaf of the mail box comprises side walls 13 and Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 29, 1910.

Serial No. 529,777.

14, a rear wall 15 and an inclined top wall l 16. Then the leaf is in closed position, the rear wall 15 is inclined upwardly and outwardly but the side walls 13 and 14 gradually increase in width toward the top wall 16 and it will therefore be seen that these side walls will close the sides of the box. Because of this arrangement of the parts when the box is closed, the compartment within said box increases in area toward the top thereof, as particularly shown in Fig. 2.

The leaf B is pivoted at its lower end to the main receptacle in any preferred manner, the connection here being shown by bolts 17 passed through the side walls of the receptacle and leaf. Lugs 18 project inwardly from the bottom edges of the side walls 13 and 14 and are spaced a slight distance from the rear wall. The lugs bear .against the bottom wall of the main receptacle A when the box is in open position and limit the pivotal movement of the hinged leaf. A curved plate 19 projects from the bottom wall of the main receptacle and forms a closure for the open bottom of t-he pivoted leaf to prevent the access of water through the bottom of the mail box.

A keeper in the form of a pin 2O is terminally secured to the side walls of the main receptacle adjacent the top edges thereof, the object of which is to engage the catch of the locking device in order to hold the mail box closed. The catch 21 is pivoted at one end to the side walls of the leaf A preferably in the horizontal plane of the pin or keeper 20. The catch is substantially the same in width as the pivoted leaf A, the rear end of the catch being formed into an eye through which a pivot pin 22 passes. The forward end of the catch is bent at an angle to the main body of the catch and forms a hook 23 for engagement with the before mentioned pin 20. The top edge of the engaging end of the catch is provided adj acent one end with a series of teeth 24. An alarm bell 25, the preferred form of which is shown in the dra-wing, is rigidly secured to the top face of the catch and so positioned thereon that its operating lever 26 projects beyond the forward end of the catch and travels along the toothed surface thereof when actuated.

Projecting downwardlyy from the top ywall 16 of the pivoted leaf A is a guard plate 27 which forms a housing over the catch and alarm bell and defines a mail receiving slot 28 between the pivoted leaf and inclined top wall of the main receptacle. Formed in the guard plate is an L-shaped recess, one leg 29 of which exposes the toothed surface of the catch and is of suficient size to loosely engage the lever 26 of the alarm. The lever 26 when engaged through the leg 29 operates to hold the pivoted leaf in its lowest limit of movement and in engagement with the rod 20 carried in the main receptacle. The opposite leg 30 of the recess is adapted to receive the operating lever' of the alarm when it has traveled to the extremity of its stroke so that the lever may be pulled upward when alining with said leg to raise the engaging end of the catch fre-e from the rod 20.

To open the box it is simply necessary to insert the fingers in the mail receiving slot 28 and slide the lever 26 lengthwise in the slot 29 until it has come into alinement with the slot 30 when it is pulled upward until in engagement with the end of the slot; the pivoted leaf then rocks out-ward and exposes the contents of the mail box. To close the box the operation above described is reversed. The hook 23 is thus dropped into engagement with the pin 20 and the operating lever 2G of the alarm drops down into the lower leg 29 of the slot whereupon the said lever shifts laterally into said slot and thus operates as a latch. It is to be understood that this alarm and lever are similar to the ordinary bicycle bell, the lever being normally held at one end of its stroke.

It is evident that when the operating lever 26 of the alarm is slid lengthwise of the slot 29 when either opening or closing the box the alarm will be sounded.r

A curved plate 30 projectsfrom the frontv wall of the leaf to hold newspapers and the like.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the accompanying' drawing, it is thought that the construction and operation of my invention will be readily understood without a more extended explanation, it being understood that various changes may be made in the form, proportion and minor details of construction without sacrificing any of the advantages or departing from the spirit of the invention.

l/Jhat is claimed is:

l. The combinationwith a mail box having a pivoted leaf, of'a rod carried within thebox, a gravitating catch carried by said leaf engageable with said rod, a guard plate carried by said leaf in advance of said catch and provided with an Il -shaped orifice, and an alarm secured to said catch and having its operating lever engaging said catch and projecting through said orifice, said lever being adapted at one limit of its stroke to engage one leg of the orifice and at the other limit of its stroke to engage the other leg of the orifice whereby to engage and release from engagement said catch and rod.

2. The combination with a mail box having a keeper therein, of a leaf pivotally connected to the box, a guard plate movable with the leaf and having an angular slot, a gravity operated catch carried by the leaf and movable into engagement with the keeper, an alarm movable with said leaf and an alarm actuating lever shiftable within the slot to sound the alarm and to lock the catch in engagement with the keeper.

3. The combination with a mail box and a transverse keeper therein, of a leaf pivotally connected to the box, a guard movable with the leaf and having an angular orifice, there being notches within one wall of the orifice, a catch pivotally connected to thc leaf and movable into engagement with the keeper to hold the leaf in closed position, an alarm, and an alarm actuating lever movable within the orifice and into any one of the notches to sound the alarm and to hold the catch against disengagement from the keeper.

4:. The combination with a mail box and a keeper therein, of a leaf hingedly connected to the box, a guard movable with the leaf and having an angular orifice, a catch pivotally connected to the leaf and movable into engagement with the keeper to hold the leaf in closed position, an alarm, an actuating lever connected thereto and movable in one direction within the orifice to sound the alarm and lock the catch in engagement with the keeper and movable in the opposite direction to sound the alarm and release the catch.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

CHRISTIAN G. PFAIILER.

Witnesses:

C. S. Buckner, THOMAS H. Rowan. 

